Manage your subscription

Old rivals to unite in space

28 January 1995

RUSSIA and the US are about to open a new era of cooperation in space, and an artist’s impression of a historic link-up between an American shuttle and the Russian space station, Mir, should soon become a reality. On 2 February the American space shuttle Discovery will begin an eight-day mission which, for the first time, includes a visit to Mir.

Discovery will fly round Mir, approaching to within 10 metres of the station. If all goes well, an American shuttle will dock with Mir in a follow-up mission planned for May or June. When Discovery blasts off, it will be the first shuttle to carry a Russian cosmonaut. Vladimir Titov, a veteran of three space flights, spent a year on Mir in the 198Os.

NASA reports no technical problems, although technicians had to replace two leaky thrusters used for manoeuvring the shuttle in space.